1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to fan blades, and more particularly to fan blade assemblies for gas turbine engines, for example.
2. Description of Related Art
Traditionally, a turbo fan engine for an aircraft has a turbine that drives fan blades to draw air into the engine as the turbine rotates. The fan blades are exposed to the atmosphere in front of the engine and have the potential for an impact with birds or other foreign objects that may be drawn into the engine.
It is known that fan blades can be made out of titanium or aluminum. Traditional titanium fan blades are relatively strong, but they are heavy and expensive to manufacture. In order to reduce weight without sacrificing strength, it is known to machine out pockets from a titanium fan blade and adhere a cover to the fan blade. However, impact with a bird or other foreign object, as described above, can damage the blade and cover and lead to premature failure.
Such conventional methods and systems have generally been considered satisfactory for their intended purpose. However, there is still a need in the art for blade assemblies that allow for improved impact resistance. The present disclosure provides a solution for these problems.